France calls iTunes law "unconstitutional"

Apple is breathing a sigh of relief today, at least a partial one, concerning the events surrounding iTunes in France. Not too long ago, a law recently passed by the Senate and National Assembly in France would have required that Apple make any content they deliver via iTunes playable on any media player. Aside from the technical challenges that brings up, Apple also has no particular interest in making that possible seeing as how the iPod is their biggest success in decades. That law, however, has been found unconstitutional, and as such faces rewriting. While the rewrite may not have to exclude interoperability, it will need to give Apple (or any media company for that matter) the ability to protect their assets:

A 12 page legal finding was published by the council late last week and it referred principally to the 1789 Declaration on Human Rights, part of which protects property. The document said any companies forced to make music playable on any device should receive compensation because the firm would be sharing copy protection technology it had built itself.Either way, Apple still does face issue with iTunes in France. No word from Apple on what they will decide to do in the long run.